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Videoclip of the Month!!!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Chelsea Grin - Chelsea Grin EP

Chelsea Grin - Chelsea Grin EP

In 2008, the legend of Chelsea Grin was born with their debut, self titled ep being released. Almost every deathcore fan out there who bothered to look past the Suicide Silence and Bring Me the Horizon would have heard of these guys by now. Even through Chelsea Grin was a young band (and still are) when they released this ep, they took the deathcore scene by storm and as a result, they are now one of the biggest deathcore juggernauts.

For anyone who has come across Chelsea Grin and compared them to other bands in the same vein, Chelsea Grin is much more atmospheric then the others. At the time, this must have been one of the darkest, mainstream deathcore releases out there. They have the attitude of a slamming brutal death or goregrind band and threw in some heavy ass breakdowns just for fun. That being said, there are some instances where they do get technical at times and complex, but I’d have to say that it’s more about the attitude of the music (judging by the lyrical themes about killing sluts) which I think fits Chelsea Grin’s profile quite well.

Some people have complained and ranted on about how “shitty” the recording of this ep is. First of all, I’d like to point out that this is a debut release and underground bands (like Chelsea Grin was where they released this ep) are typically poor and cannot afford higher quality recording. But that’s for most cases I agree, yeah it ruins the music most of the time (especially when they sound like they have been recorded in a tin can) but in Chelsea Grin’s case, I thought it increased the quality of their music. The rawness of the recording just added that sense of darkness to their music as well, which is something the band seems to hold so dear to them because they have utilized it in releases beyond their debut. I don’t think this ep would have been half as good as what it is if they have used higher quality of recording and ditched the rawness which would have also removed the darkness as well.

It is very evident that this ep is not simply pure deathcore, in fact it is very far from it. I think that 40% if not more of Chelsea Grins sound comes from grindcore. First of all, the atmosphere sounds a lot darker than your typical deathcore band. Take Whitechapel for example, they do have some really dark sections throughout their music but they are usually combined with more upbeat sections which follow. Pretty much everything in Chelsea Grins ep is grim and evil. Secondly, vocal style doesn’t really follow suit with the many deathcore bands. For anyone who hasn’t heard, I think that half of the vocals are either pig squeals or those “burping” vocals. There are very little real death growls in this release which is something that is weird. Oh, and for those who don’t like the “breeing”, you shouldn’t touch this ep ever because it is jam packed full of them.

Yes, Chelsea Grin is still considered a deathcore band and not only that, and yes they are one of the bands who have influenced the next generation of deathcore bands. There is a lot evidence of their deathcore in their music, not only grindcore. First of all, the breakdowns have that primitive deathcore character to them. They aren’t overly heavy or brutal, but instead they have a more catchy hardcore style to them. Secondly, obviously the guitar riffs played here are absolutely key in primitive style deathcore. If anyone doesn’t know what I’m talking about when I mean “primitive deathcore riffs” and need a good example of what they sound like, you cannot go past tracks Cheyne-Strokes and Disgrace. I’m not sure if that’s official terminology for what I’m talking about, but I think it’s a good description of what they sound like.

Chelsea Grin shocked the world with this ep and as a result, they became one of the most successful bands to hit the deathcore scene. This ep, contains arguably 2 of their most famous tracks which are Crewcabanger and Lifeless, these two tracks have been heard by almost every deathcore fan in the world (or anyone who can say “I know what deathcore is!”). Although Chelsea Grin might have been overtaken with some of the young bloods in the deathcore scene when it comes to music quality, Chelsea Grin’s debut will be landmarked in deathcore history. I give Chelsea Grin’s debut ep a 14/20.